


Misguided Ghosts

by litol_potato (beautiful_as_endless)



Series: Team Hijo de Puta rewrite [1]
Category: Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral (2018), Heneral Luna (2015)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 17:06:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17729285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautiful_as_endless/pseuds/litol_potato
Summary: He didn't know why he was chosen to go back - not him, the boy general, the hatchetman, the sinner. If he was to have another shot of redemption - even a chance of actually dying as he should have during that battle - he had to bring them together again in any way possible.[A rewrite of the original Misguided Ghosts]





	Misguided Ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone rises from the dead. Sort of.

**_"Every night I try to dream tomorrow makes it better."_ **

**Wednesday, December 6, 1899, 9:00 AM, Tirad Pass**

The boy general stood at the top of Tirad Pass, the gentle December wind ruffling his thick hair. The place still smelled so much of blood and death, it was too easy to believe that a battle just concluded recently. The ground was littered with stony mounds -- hastily made graves for his fallen comrades. He bowed his head in prayer, trying to remember the names of everyone who had fought with him.

He wondered if anyone survived. Did Vicente and Adela retreat? Did Carrasco survive? Did Garcia reunite with his child and Joven? Was his cousin, Juan, safe?

“Walo lamang ang nakatakas.” The old woman stood beside him, her gray-flecked hair pulled up in a tight bun, a plain gray shawl over her blue baro. “Hindi ka nabibilang doon.”

He woke up in her hut three days ago, alive and whole, a day after their last stand on Tirad Pass. His hand pressed against his chest, confirming the startled throb of his heart. Still, the evidence of his death was right in front of him now, and he confirmed that his corpse truly was buried beneath his feet.

He had three days to think, three days to brood, three days to gather his thoughts. Most of his memories remained intact, though a few, awfully painful details of events from four years ago felt too hazy for him to dwell upon. His host said not a word and only showed up in his room to bring him food, leaving him alone with his thoughts. She did not even complain about his inability to help with the chores.

He was a general no more, dead to the world as much as Luna was. As much as the Bernal brothers were. He truly was what they named him -- a boy general who thought that he played with toy soldiers. He used his name and his face to charm women and quench his thirst for pleasure and gratification, knowing that he would die young in the profession he had chosen. He followed the orders of his superiors blindly, putting his foolish, naive faith in them.

He believed that they could do nothing wrong and paid for it with his own honor, his life. He finally remembered who he was, and the truth hurt too much.

The woman's first words after three days of silence came in the form of a simple request for him to follow her. He felt his throat constrict when she took him back to Tirad Pass. The long hike wasn’t as challenging as he remembered, but a different weight had settled upon his shoulders as he made the ascent one more -- not as the boy general, not as Aguila, but as himself, the monster he truly was. The battle was only three days ago and yet so much had changed since then.

He thought of the president he had blindly followed, who had willingly discarded him to save his skin. He thought of Manuel Bernal, who, at his last  moments, had openly defied his torturer, calling him out for his true nature: a monster and a dog. He thought of Senyor Pole, who everyone else had hated for always speaking the truth. He thought of Antonio Luna, who meant well and whose temper was his downfall.

Blood was on his hands -- the blood of good men who deserved to live instead of him. He had half a mind to fling himself off the cliff.

Unfortunately, doing it in front of his host, an old woman, would be improper.

“Nakaligtas po ba si Enteng? Si Delang?” he asked instead. “Si Juan? Sina Teniente Carrasco at Koronel Leyba?”

“Buhay sila. Ligtas din sa ngayon ang batang potograpo at ang kanyang alaga.”

“At si Tinyente Garcia?” His palms began to sweat. He knew the answer before they spilled out of her mouth.

“Patay na siya.”

His mind blanked out for a moment. He felt himself sway and for one exhilarating second , he thought he would fall. To his surprise, a pair of cold yet strong hands pulled him back from the edge of the cliff, sending him sprawling on his backside in the dirt.

“Diyos ko,” he whispered. He could tears pooling in his eyes, slowly trickling down his pale, dirty cheeks.

They barely knew each other and yet he had looked up to Garcia. The lieutenant was a good person -- he had served the nation despite the hatred he may have felt for the men who had betrayed his comrades. He did his duty without second thoughts, even sparing some advice for his younger commanding officer. The nation needed men like him to live, not a blind boy general who wished to serve only himself.

The old woman rubbed his back, calm as ever. "Kinuha nila lahat ng gamit mo, maging ang mga sulat na pinadala sa iyo ng mga babaeng pina-ibig mo." There was no anger, no accusation in her voice. She still watched him with those cloudy eyes of hers. “Nangailangan sila ng katunayan na napabagsak ka nila.”

His stomach churned in shame - not for way the soldiers had desecrated a supposedly dead man’s body, but for all the women he had played with.

“Ano pa pong ginagawa ko dito?” he asked. He remembered his last moments in the battle -- the sudden flash of pain, the taste of sulfur and blood, the darkness that followed. “Kung namatay na ako, bakit nandito parin ako sa lupa? Ikaw ba ang magsasama sa akin sa langit o sa impiyerno kung saan ako nararapat?”

Other, better men deserved the second chance - Lieutenant Garcia, the Bernal brothers, Paco Roman came to mind.

"Gusto ko sanang sabihin na mapalad ka dahil nakabalik ka," she said. “Pero isa itong sumpa, hijo. Bumalik ka dahil may naghahangad na makuha ang iyong katawan at kaluluwa."

 

“Isang sumpa?” If this was true, then he was taking back his sentiments. Better men deserved to rest. He would gladly accept his fate.

He bowed his head, the weight beginning to grow on his shoulders.

“Isa nga itong sumpa, ngunit hindi ka ba masaya na nandito ka pa rin?” The woman raised her brows.

Answering the question with _another question_ wasn’t an ideal move, he knew, but it was all he had for now.

“Bakit ako?” The hair on the back of his neck prickled as he remembered the same words thrown to him by Remedios. _Bakit ako?_ It felt like lifetimes ago. He hoped she was well and safe. “Ano bang mayroon sa akin para masumpa ng ganito? Sino naman ang may kakayahang gambalain ako at ibalik kahit na patay na ako sa mata ng mundo?”

The old woman had her hands behind her back as they both surveyed the mountains. She wore a wry little smile. “Maraming kayang gawin ang pagkahumaling, lalo na kapag makapangyarihan ang nakakaramdam nito.”

“Hindi ko po maintindihan.”

“Sa ngayon. Lalabas at lalabas ang katotohanan sa takdang panahon.” The woman reached out to brush a lock of hair way from his face, making him ache for his mother. “Ihanda mo ang iyong sarili, _Goyong_. Magiging mahirap ang mga darating na taon. Mahaba ang daang tatahakin mo.”

“Ihanda ang aking sarili?” Goyong reached for his saber, momentarily forgetting that it was gone -- just like almost everything else that tied him to his old life. He settled instead for staring at the sky momentarily before his gaze returned to the mountains before him.

“Hindi pa tapos ang pakikipaglaban mo. Nagkataon lang na iba na ang kailangan mong harapin.”

A long journey and a battle at its end sounded like a fitting punishment for the boy who thought he could play soldiers and brought nothing but doom upon everyone around him.

Goyong closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It’s been a long time since he asked for advice that he was willing to heed. “Ano po sa tingin niyo ang dapat kong gawin?”

“Palipasin mo muna ang panahon. Gamitin mo ang oras para kilalanin ang iyong sarili. Ligtas ka pa sa kalaban mo sa ngayon. Gamitin mo muna ang oras para hanapin ang iyong sarili. Kailangang maging buo ang loob mo pagdating ng nakatakdang araw.”

He tilted his head warily. Something about her words brought more questions than answers. “Palipasin ang panahon? Alam po ng lahat na patay na ako. Hindi naman ako pwedeng basta na lamang bumalik sa aking hukbo, o maging sa pamilya ko.”

“Dumayo ka muna sa ibang lugar kung kinakailangan.”

“Gaano katagal ho ba itong... ganito?”

“Matagal-tagal. Nandito  ka dahil sa isang sumpa, huwag mong kakalimutan.” She put her hands behind her back once more. “Hindi ka tatanda at hindi ka mamamatay hangga’t hindi ka nakukuha ng nagsumpa sa iyo, maliban na lamang kung may magampanan kang isang tungkulin.”

His ears rang. _Tungkulin_. He failed his duty once. He swore to himself that it won’t happen a second time. “Ano pa bang kailangan kong gawin?”

“Darating ang araw na mapapalibutan ng kadiliman ang bayan ng mga anghel sa anyo ng isang huwad na bayani. Magiging mortal ka nang muli sa araw na mapuksa mo ito at dumanak ang dugo ng aguila sa mga bisig ng lumuluhang araw.”

Goyong bit his lip. He could feel the weight of this new burden settling upon his shoulders. “Bakit ako?”

There it was again, the sharpness of those two words hanging in the air.

“Para sa mga Bernal, Goyong, at sa mga iba pang mga kasalanan na nais mong pagbayaran.”

Not even a hundred lifetimes of atonement could pay for what he had done, but maybe he could take what he can get. “Gagawin ko ang makakaya ko.”

“Mabuti naman.” The old woman beamed with pride. “Wala akong inaasahang iba pa mula sa iyo.”

The tiniest of smiles graced Goyong’s face for the first time in _days_. “Salamat po sa inyong tiwala, pero hindi ko po alam kung karapat-dapat po ba ako--”

“Sa kabila ng iyong mga kasalanan, karapat-dapat ka paring makatanggap ng tiwala mula sa akin.”

“Paano niyo po nagagawang magtiwala pa rin sa akin pagkatapos ng mga pagkakamaling nagawa ko?”

“Tao ka, Goyong. Hindi natin mabubura at hindi natin dapat burahin ang iyong mga kasalanan, pero alam kong handa ka na nang patunayan na natuto at nagbago ka, kahit buhay mo pa ang kapalit.”

Goyong closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could almost hear voices whispering in the wind.

_Kahit buhay mo pa ang kapalit._

_...dumanak ang dugo ng aguila..._

Whatever his journey was, it wouldn’t end well. Still, the woman was right. He would do what had to be done, even if it cost him his life. “Maraming salamat po sa tiwala.”

“Wala kang dapat ipagpasalamat.”

He opened his eyes and turned to the woman, his gaze sharp and piercing. “Pero sino po ba kayo? Bakit po kayo may pakialam sa akin?”

Her wry smile turned sad. “Minsan din akong nagkamali, gaya mo. Wala pang gaanong nangyayari dahil dito pero darating ang araw na maraming madadamay na mga inosente. At kapag sumapit na iyon, magkikita tayong muli.”

Goyong barely understood the situation, but the woman’s words and the uncertainty of the foreseeable future were enough to make him shudder. He clenched his fists and took a deep breath. “Aasahan ko po iyon.”

“Natatakot ka ba?”

“Sa dami po ng mga nangyari at sa sinasabi niyong mangyayari, imposible na po atang hindi ako matakot.”

She put her hand on his shoulder. “Huwag mong ikahiya ang takot, hijo. Mas mababahala ako kung hindi ka natatakot sa harap ng lahat ng mga naganap nitong mga nakaraang araw.”

“Pero hindi niyo parin po sinasagot ang una kong tanong. Sino po kayo?” After everything that happened, the motherly touch felt both comforting and sad. He ached for the family that he was sure he would never see again.

“Ako’y isang kaibigan.”

Goyong shook his head, aware that it would be the only answer he would get for now. “Tatanggapin ko na po muna yang sagot na yan.” He chuckled in spite of himself.

“Magkikita pa naman tayo sa darating na mga panahon. Pero sa ngayon... marami pang kailangang lakbayin ang aguilang nabalian ng pakpak bago ito makalipad muli.”

An eagle in flight passed over their heads, letting out an ear-piercing cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised a rewrite to some people so here we are. Huehuehue.


End file.
